Spring season is upon us and last fall’s plantings are on full display. The Park Avenue hill daffodils will remind us of the start of spring every year. Please take a moment to read the spring update to find out about the upcoming events in the Village and what the Board has been working on.
Have a happy and safe spring!
VILLAGE FINANCES: The board approved the final budget for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2020. The final budget is available on the Village website. The budget includes a two percent, $36,000, overall tax increase. The current year budget increase is due to state and local government aids and grants decreasing in the current year while we are forecasting works projects for village road repair and improvements of over $500,000. From a reserve perspective, the Village has reserve of about $1.2 million dollars. The Village has bonds that are expiring within the next 2 years of about $480,000. The Board is also considering in light of interest rates, whether it is prudent to take on debt to fund improvements to roads and maintenance.
The Office of the State Comptroller uses the Fiscal Stress Monitoring System to examine the annual financial information reported by your local government. This analysis provides an objective assessment of the fiscal challenges facing individual local governments and school districts, identifying situations where corrective action may be needed. As a result of the State performed stress test, the Village scored highly as we ranked at the very low end of the range from a stress perspective.
ELECTION: Village elections are complete, Lawrence Ceriello was elected Mayor for a two-year term, Antonio D’Angelo was re-elected as Trustee and Joseph P. Williams as Trustee, each will serve a two-year term. The new term started on April 1 and each Trustee was sworn in at the last meeting. A total of 47 residents came out to vote. Thank you to all of the residents that turned out for the election. The Village would like to thank former Mayor Frank DeMento for his service to our community for the past six years, serving as Mayor and Deputy Mayor.
VILLAGE APPOINTMENTS: The following appointments were made at the meeting of the Board of Trustees on April 10, 2019: Lawrence Ceriello was sworn in as Mayor; Antonio D’Angelo was sworn in as Trustee; Joseph P. Williams was sworn in as Trustee; Patricia Miller was re-appointed Associate Justice; Maureen Mclean was re-appointed Deputy Clerk / Court Clerk; Robert Morici was re-appointed Village Attorney; Laura Dilimetin was re-appointed Village Prosecutor; Anthony DiProperzio was re-appointed Building Inspector; Amy Urban, AIA, was re-appointed as Village Architect, James Antonelli was re-appointed as Village Engineer . The website has been updated to reflect Village Committee members .
EXTENET: The Board of Trustees has approved the application of Extenet for the installation of a single wireless cell phone facility at the Village owned triangle at the northwest corner of Park Avenue and Manhasset Woods Road. The equipment will be contained within a new flagpole and pedestal, all to be installed by Extenet without cost to the Village.
The Board granted approval after a lengthy public hearing, at which Extenet officials were required to testify as to the wireless facility’s safety, necessity, and compliance with applicable law. While the application has been granted, the Board is continuing negotiations with Extenet to assure the beautification and maintenance of the triangle’s grounds.
Given that Extenet must coordinate with other public utilities, we do not have a start date for the construction. However, Extenet has assured us that adequate advance notice shall be given to residents, and every effort shall be made to minimize disruption and inconvenience.
The Board was pleased to use what authority it retains under federal telecommunications law to assure the best interests of the Village. We will keep residents informed as the actual construction date approaches.
ROADS: The survey work for the Bellows/Stuart/South Eakins Road project is complete. The specs and bid books are currently being prepared and we expect to go out to bid on this project in May. Construction is anticipated to occur in the summer. We will notify all residents in this area with further information regarding construction after the bids go out.
SCA FAIR: The SCA fair will be held on Saturday, May 4 from 10am-5pm. Please be aware of the parking restrictions on Village streets. The Village will be assisting the SCA in parking and traffic enforcement. This is a great day in our Village, so please come out and support the SCA. The success of the fair relies on the many volunteers from our community. If any resident would like to volunteer or make a donation to sponsor this event, you may reach out to SCA Fair co-chairs Claudine Fini and Annie Yeun at manhassetscafair@gmail.com.
MEMORIAL DAY AT WALDMANN: On Monday, May 27 we invite all residents to gather with us at Waldmann Memorial Park to remember those that have sacrificed so much for our freedom. The ceremony will begin at 9am, coffee and treats will be served.
MPWC FUN RUN: Mark your calendars for the 10th annual MPWC Kids Fun Run and Fair which will take place Saturday, June 1st between 9am – 10:30am. The beneficiary of the event will be SCA Project Share, which will use the monies raised to purchase basic items for economically at-risk students at the Manhasset schools. The race will begin and end at Waldmann Memorial Park. Please contact Aline Lennon at Alinegambeski@hotmail.com for questions regarding sponsorship or registration.
GARBAGE REMINDER: One of the biggest expenses in the Village is garbage, we contract for rear door pickup; no garbage or garbage cans should be placed by the curb. Sanitation workers will take your trash from the rear or side yard. Any large items require a call to Meadow Carting to arrange pickup.
VOLUNTEERS: If any residents have a desire to get involved with the Village, please reach out to Mayor Ceriello or any of the other Trustees.
NEXT MEETING: Our next meeting will be Wednesday, May 8 at 7:30pm. For additional information please visit our website at www.munseypark.org.
Village of Munsey Park Board of Trustees:
Lawrence A. Ceriello, Mayor (lceriello@munseypark.org)
Jennifer Noone, Deputy Mayor (jnoone@munseypark.org)
Antonio D'Angelo, Trustee (adangelo@munseypark.org)
Anthony M. Sabino, Trustee (amsabino@munseypark.org)
Joseph P. Williams, Trustee (jwilliams@munsey park.org)